Online musings from the newsroom and beyond . . . by Yoni Greenbaum

Why Media Vanguards and Why Now

Since leaving Philadelphia Media Network, I have been speaking with newspaper publishers and with many of the vendors who supply the services those publishers use and have realized that there is a disconnect between the two. Simply put, publishers require more then most vendors are able to provide — if a vendor is good at sales, they may struggle with publisher relations, if they are good at publisher relations they might struggle with post-sale training and user development. To help both groups be more successful I’m excited to be able to share that I have created Media Vanguards.

With offices in Bryn Mawr, Pa., Media Vanguards provides the vendor side of the business a variety of services including outsourced publisher relations, post sale support and managed introductions. We’re already working with a number of companies and thanks to a great team, have the bandwidth to add more. And at the same time, we’re continuing to talk with publishers and learning what issues they are struggling with and offering them solutions that meet their needs. At the core of what we do is our simple goal of helping vendors be more successful, ensuring that their products are being used effectively and helping publishers fill holes in their product and revenue strategies.

If you sense that this is something I’m excited about and deeply believe in, that is because I am and I do. I think this an interesting time for the industry and I’m excited to be able to play my own role. I am pleased to already be working with some great companies and am excited by those opportunities still to come.

As part of this transition in my life, I’m going to transition Editor on the Verge from a blog site focusing on newsroom and reporting issues to a site where I can share what I’m seeing in the digital media industry. The tips that I have already written, that are still used by and referred to by journalists around the world will remain here and available.

Thanks for your support and I look forward to sharing more news and tips in the coming months and years. Please visit Media Vanguards and if you think I can help your company or know a company that would be a good match, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.